Re: RAT "talking about theatre" (Wellman's Infrared) surrebutter

[jonoh1@juno.com]

On Sat, 29 Jan 2000 03:43:31 +0000 Bobby Mrozek <bby@earthlink.net>
writes:

 As a preface, it is worth mentioning 
>that of the 
>people who saw the original message on the RATlist and responded, most 
>did so 
>by emailing to me directly rather than posting on the RATlist.  In so 
>doing, a 
>good few stated their desire not to post on the RATlist because they 
>didn't 
>care to get "...shouted down by the youth movement."  

This is a drag, a shame, and a cop out.
  It's a drag because it is undoubtedly true. I've found myself hesitant
to post a response or whatever due to the potential of flamed responses.
But post I do. I figure, if I'm "wrong" about something (which is
probably what motivated most of these people to post off-list) I might
actually learn something. And if I feel I'm "right" then I should have
the balls to stand behind my statements. Sure, this can lead to
humiliation and public dismissal. But hey, it's a long road we're all
traveling, no? It'll all come out in the wash.
  It's shame because now we have all been robbed of other people's
perspective on a very interesting topic. The odds that they would have
been "shouted down" by some mythical "youth movement" (I'm 47 by the way)
are good. But they are equal to the odds of having connected with some
stranger far away who was enlightened (as you apparently were) by their
Wellman posts.
  And it's a cop out because, as much as I may or may not admire the
people who felt compelled to play it safe by posting off-list, they are,
ultimately, idea stalkers. As much as they may profess otherwise, the
move is self-serving and, to me, not a little creepy. These are people
who I would not trust with my back in a crowd of powerful enemies. I vote
for having the courage of one's convictions every time.
Jonathan Harris



________________________________________________________________
YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET!
Juno now offers FREE Internet Access!
Try it today - there's no risk!  For your FREE software, visit:
http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.